Uddhav meets India Inc leaders, says will ensure no industry leaves Maharashtra

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday assured top business leaders that his government will create “an industry-friendly environment” in Maharashtra and ensure

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday assured top business leaders that his government will create “an industry-friendly environment” in Maharashtra and ensure that not a single industry leaves the state. Addressing the honchos in a meeting that lasted two hours at Sahyadri guest house, Thackeray said industries would in fact want to come to Maharashtra and invest.

HT Image

The meeting was attended by some of India Inc’s top leaders, including Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani; Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata; Bharat Forge CMD Baba Kalyani; JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal; Raymond Group CMD Gautam Singhania; Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra; Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej; HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh; RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka; Hiranandani Group co-founder and MD Niranjan Hiranandani; and Kotak Mahindra Bank CMD Uday Kotak; among others.

Officials present at the meeting said the industrialists raised several issues. “CM asked them the reason for industries going to other states. They told us that the land here was very expensive… permissions need to be given on fast-track basis. They also want Mumbai to be made a financial capital. They asked the government to take bold steps to make the state a favourite destination for industries,” said an official.

Tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray said the industrialists should also invest in areas such as tourism, art and culture.

Kotak, who is also president-designate, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said they are committed to working with the state for the development of Maharashtra.